Bone Abstracts

Epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene expression and are heritable through cell divisions even though they do not involve modifications in the gene sequence. They include methylation and other chemical modifications of cytosine nucleotides, histone posttranslational modifications, microRNAs and other non-coding RNAs. Most cytosines in the human genome are methylated, particularly in the inactive, tightly packed, heterochromatin of autosomes, and the inactivated X-chromosome in f...

Osteoporosis (OP) is characterised by reduced bone mass, due to an insufficient osteoblast-mediated bone formation, unable to replace the bone tissue removed by osteoclasts. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells capable of differentiating into osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondrocytes. Epigenetic marks like DNA methylation could influence the differentiation potential of these cells into osteoblasts and, consequently, the risk of OP. To explore this hypothesis, we...

Alkaline phosphatase activity is critical for the mineralization of the bone matrix. Indeed, inactivating mutations of the ALPL gene, encoding the isoenzyme expressed in bone and liver, may result in the severe abnormalities of bone and other connective tissues that characterize hypophosphatasia. Nevertheless, the clinical spectrum of hypophosphatasia is rather broad and variable between a within families. Thus, along severe infantile forms, there are adult forms with mild man...

Background: Surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes, specially in obese patients, has provided good results in the control of blood glucose and Hb1Ac although its effect on bone health is not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate gene expression of bone remodelling markers in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) non-obese rats after gastrojejunal bypass and sleeve gastroplasty, and their relationship with hormonal parameters.Materials and methods: We ...

Sclerostin, encoded by the SOST gene, functions as an inhibitor of the Wnt pathway and thus it is an important regulator of bone homeostasis. The fact that osteoblasts, the only cells expressing SOST, lay buried deeply in the bone matrix, poses intrinsic difficulties to the study of the regulation of this gene. Since RUNX2 and SP7/OSX are two known regulators of the differentiation of cells of the osteoblastic lineage, the aim of this study was to determine t...